Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that provides "z-estimates" that claim to calculate the ideal price of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a sophisticated program which crossreferences factors which alter real estate values, but here's a typical story I have heard from real estate sellers in Northern Virginia:

Our home was recently appraised for 650K. Zillow estimates the value at 521K. The estimate makes us one of the lowest priced homes in the subdivision. We have all upgrades in our home and it is the largest of the homes that were originally built in this subdivision. It was appraised at 750K before 2009. Our home has a basement. Neighbors do not have basement on one side and you appraised higher. Really? -- James E. - Fort Hunt

If you research the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many posts by angry property owners and leery real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Horizon_house report that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of approximately 20%. Even if we assume the margin of error is only 10%, in Northern Virginia that means a "z-estimate" is only within $50,000 of the actual ideal price. If the margin of error is an unlikley 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow still remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Home sellers and property purchasers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Horizon_house where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Phone us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a computer won't set the value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will account for the many variables which make up your home's sales value.